The Digital Commons @ Andrews University

Showcasing student and faculty research all over the world

A screenshot of the map on the Digital Commons @ Andrews University homepage demonstrates the global usage of the resource. In nearly real time, the map shows what papers have been downloaded in which cities around the world.

The Digital Commons @ Andrews University is a service provided by the Andrews University Libraries to showcase research and creative scholarship selected and deposited by University departments, the Office of Research & Creative Scholarship and the University libraries. Any dissertations, theses and papers in digital format currently available through the library catalog has been added to The Digital Commons @ Andrews University for easy access around the world.

The Digital Commons @ Andrews University seeks to provide the faculty and students of Andrews with a voice in global conversations through their research. Additionally, it aids in telling the Andrews story through the digital archiving of campus publications, public documents and images. Lastly, The Digital Commons @ Andrews University helps share Andrews’ unique teaching resources for the benefit of the global community.

“We have a rich heritage of research here and we’re starting to share that heritage around the world in a digital way, says Terry Robertson, seminary librarian. “We’re starting to see our work accessed in some cool places as a result.”

Through this resource, researchers are able to see where in the world their research has been downloaded and what institutions have accessed it. All authors are able to log in and see where their papers have been downloaded and whether the download was by a government institution, educational institution, or commercial institution. Users can search The Digital Commons @ Andrews University by department or faculty member in a SelectedWorks gallery, where faculty publications are organized by year.

“We worked closely with the provost’s office, key faculty members and deans council,” says Larry Onsager, dean of libraries at Andrews University. “From there it expanded until most faculty have gotten excited about this.”

Currently one of the most downloaded papers of all time on the Andrews Digital Commons is an honors thesis written by undergraduate Megan Reed, a 2015 business graduate and J.N. Andrews Scholar. Her paper, titled “Narcissism and the Selfie: Investigating Millennial Narcissism on Instagram,” has been downloaded nearly 500 times since July 2015, a mere four and a half months prior to the publication of this article.

“The Digital Commons @ Andrews University is another great place to point people to and show them how Andrews is serious about research—even at the undergraduate level,” says Robertson. “We have many brilliant students here doing excellent work with their expert advisors, and now we have a place to showcase the results of that work.”

Eventually The Digital Commons @ Andrews University would like to have archives of images from campus as well, particularly archaeological items from the Horn Museum or images of all the different campus trees since the University is an arboretum.

“We know that so far individuals from 100 countries have visited the Digital Comments @ Andrews University,” says Robertson. “This resource is a global interest, and we’re pretty excited about that.”

To check out this resource, visit digitalcommons.andrews.edu. For more information about The Digital Commons @ Andrews University, email Terry Robertson at trobtsn@andrews.edu or call 269-471-3269.